Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy Teams announced
22nd August 2012
The Lawn Tennis Association and the USTA have announced their teams for the 36th Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy, held August 23-24, at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven, Conn.
The tournament is a yearly competition between the best 18U girls’ tennis players from Great Britain and the United States.
Competing for Great Britain are Katie Boulter, 16, of Loughborough, England; Anna Brogan, 15, of Glasgow, Scotland; Harriet Dart, 16, of London; Eleanor Dean, 16, of Yorkshire, England; and Katy Dunne, 17, of Hemel Hempstead, England. Great Britain will be captained by Lucie Ahl, Claire Curran and Judy Murray.
Playing for the United States are Victoria Duval, 16, of Bradenton, Fla., who has received a wild card entry into the 2012 US Open main draw; Jennifer Brady, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla.; Katerina Stewart, 15, of Miami; Tornado Alicia Black, 14, of Boca Raton, Fla.; and Nicole Frenkel, 14, of Winchester, Mass. The United States will by coached by USTA National Coaches Freddie Rodriguez and Jay Devashetty.
The teams will play a total of 12 matches – eight singles and four doubles – over Thursday and Friday. All singles matches will be best of three sets with a tie-break in the final set. Doubles matches will be two sets and a match tiebreak.
The Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy, held the last two years in Eastbourne, England, was started in 1973 by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and Mrs. Frank Jeffett 20 years after Connolly won all four Grand Slam events and four years after her death. The United States currently leads the all-time series, 24-11.
“We are very pleased to be working with the USTA on this historic event, which has been played the last two years at Eastbourne,” said Elizabeth Jeffett, event chair and trustee, MCB Tennis Foundation. “This is a great opportunity for our competitors to play for their respective countries.”